


woof

by brandywine421



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animal Transformation, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 06:20:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3477692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandywine421/pseuds/brandywine421
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a prompt on the avengers kinkmeme: <i>"...something different happens when Steve gets Dr Erskine's serum plus the Vita ray treatment... Steve does get taller and stronger, but when the first full moon hits, he turns into a big friendly looking dog. Yes, he's a weredog, not a werewolf."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Old Days

**Author's Note:**

> When I was trolling Google Search for appropriately fluffy dogs, I discovered Smoky the Yorkie who was a Corporal in the WAC of WW2.  [Wiki entry on Smoky](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoky_%28dog%29)
> 
>   
> 
> And for comparison, here are some pics of Newfoundland dogs.  Who allegedly can beat bears in a fight and pull carts.  And walk horses? 

# 1  
  
"Everyone out!"  Peggy Carter was a force of nature and Howard had never seen the lab clear that fast, even when it was on fire.  She stalked over to him with a stack of papers that he wished he didn't recognize.  
  
"Did you know about this?  Howard?"  Her nostrils flared and he was possibly worried she was about to breathe fire.  
  
He followed her finger to the tiny, miniscule really, note in Erskine's files.  "It's not permanent - it was just a little tweak Erskine thought would help with the stability of the change - "  
  
"Yip!"  
  
"Jesus Christ.  Steve, buddy, you're - " Howard bit back a stab of hysteria when he saw the tiny, miniscule really, dog stuffed into Peggy's coat pocket.  
  
"He's a - " Peggy sucked in a breath to rant but Howard had to see.  
  
"Little fluffball of adorable, aren't you?  You're just so fluffy - Ow!" Howard said, dropping the puppy on the lab table with a thump.  "He bit me."  
  
"You deserved it," Peggy huffed, reaching out to pet the ball of fluff that was supposed to be Captain America.  "Didn't you think this was information we needed to know?"  
  
"It wasn't supposed to manifest like this, just, hell - I thought he was using werewolf mojo or something, not ' _death by adorable_ '," Howard said, throwing his hands.  "I thought Erskine told you, Cap."  
  
The puppy growled.  "Ruff."  
  
"That's a no," Peggy translated.  "From what I can tell, he's a Yorkshire Terrier.  Not a werewolf.  Werewolves aren't real."  
  
Steve was tiny.  Very tiny.  He was solid white with bright blue eyes, almost albino.  "Dogs this small shouldn't be real.  Why would Abraham choose this breed for the binding DNA?"  
  
"Howard.  Captain Rogers is a **terrier**.  It would be a nice time to tell us how long this is going to last."  
  
He took the papers and began flipping through them for the sections Abraham had never let him see.  "Three days, hypothetically - "  
  
"Yip!"  
  
Howard hummed, scratching between the Cap's ears absently.  "Yeah, I guess it's not so hypothetical now, is it, buddy?"  
  
" _Howard_."  
  
"I'm looking!  He was going to set it on a schedule with the moon, that's why I filed it under 'werewolf' in my head when he would blather about it.  Genetics wasn't really my focus at the time and I assumed he knew what he was doing."  He found the page he was looking for.  "He used two specific strains of canine DNA, Yorkshire Terrier and - Newfoundland?"  
  
Cap the Pup sat down unhappily on the table and put his furry paws over his eyes.  
  
"Newfoundlands are large enough to be useful, especially in cold weather.  And Yorkies are already commonly used in the field," Peggy considered.  "But it's going to be difficult for him to run missions if he's unexpectedly a dog half the time."  
  
"Three days a month is not half the time," Howard replied.  "We'll have to see if the Newfoundland comes out.  Maybe make all full moons mandatory testing for the Captain and one of us can travel with them to make sure we're available for the 'testing'."  
  
"Yip."  
  
Howard and Peggy focused on the pup.  "You want to tell your team?" Howard guessed.  
  
"Yip."  Cap sat up and bobbed his tiny head decisively.  
  
"We'll talk about it when you're not fluffy and adorable," Peggy conceded.  "When will that be, Howard?"  
  
"Two days, give or take."  
  
"I don't know if we can stall the boys that long.  Barnes is already looking for him," she sighed.  
  
"Well, they probably should know.  They can teach him to sniff out explosives or fetch sticks," Howard said.  
  
Cap growled and nipped at his fingers.  
  
# 2  
  
"You got us a dog?  I'm not sure these guys are capable of taking care of a dog," Dugan said suspiciously when Peggy shoved Howard into the tent.  
  
"Yeah, about that - "  
  
Barnes scoffed.  "Is that where Cap ran off to?  Saving puppies is part of his dog and pony show now?  Did you make sure the cameras got it?"  
  
Howard considered it.  The newsreels would love it, but Cap growled from his seat in Howard's crooked arm.  
  
"Stark?" Barnes grumbled at him after a moment.  "What do you want?"  
  
"There's this tiny little side effect to the supersoldier serum that we only recently, as in a couple of hours ago, figured out," Howard said.  The levity dissipated from the room and he was going to make Carter pay for dumping this job on him.  
  
"What kind of side effect?" Barnes demanded before the other Commandos got a word out.  
  
"Yip!" Cap offered unhelpfully.  
  
"Um.  The head scientist might have put some canine DNA in the mix.  So for a few days a month, Cap's going to be fluffy and adorable," Howard sighed.  
  
It only took a moment before the tent erupted in laughter.  "Nice try, Stark, but we're not that gullible," Gabe choked out.  
  
He looked down at Cap who rumbled unhappily, his tiny dog heartbeat pounding in his chest.  
  
"It's not funny.  Nobody knows what that serum did to him long term," Barnes muttered.  
  
"We should be watching you closer, Cap," Howard conceded to the pup.  "I should have gone over the notes again after Erskine died."  
  
"Ruff," Cap replied with a muted sigh.  
  
"They're probably not going to believe it until you tell them yourself," Howard said.  Cap gave another doggy nod and fidgeted until Howard put him down.  
  
"You can drop the joke now, Stark," Barnes said but he didn't take his eyes off the energetic puffball that he'd released.  Cap darted under one of the cots and the sound of his digging filled the resulting silence.  
  
He rolled his eyes.  He still couldn't figure out how Cap had such a grumpy friend, but he insisted the guy was still recovering from his time in the HYDRA base.  (Peggy said it was because he was still upset about Steve taking the serum without telling him first.)  Howard had been warned not to engage.  It worked sometimes.  "Peggy and I told him we should wait but even if he's a dog at the moment, he still calls the shots when it comes to his team."  He cut his eyes to Falsworth who was watching the exchange with less doubt than before.  "Thought we were going to have to take Phillips to medical, he's probably still laughing his ass off somewhere."  
  
Steve emerged, dragging a worn notebook in his mouth.  He scrambled back under the bed and returned with a small bound parcel and a rolled up map.  "Yip!"  
  
"The hell," Morita muttered.  
  
Cap was too small to do anything but drag the notebook to Falsworth's feet with a small bark, nosing at it until the man flipped it open.  "Yip yip yip yip yip yip!"  
  
"Page six?" Howard guessed.  
  
Falsworth flipped it open.  "Mission plans?"  
  
Steve hopped onto the bed after an adorable wiggle of his butt and placed his paw in the corner.  "Six hundred, is that when Cap's meeting with - "  
  
"Ruff.  Yip!"  
  
Everyone looked to Howard.  "I'm not a dog translator, but I'm pretty sure he means you have to take the meeting for him."  
  
"Yip."  Cap hopped off the bed again and retrieved the map, rolling it with his nose to Falsworth's feet before going for the parcel and tugging on the strings until he got to Dugan.  
  
The man huffed and picked up the box.  "What's this?"  He carefully untied the strings.  
  
"Yip."  Steve trotted back to Howard's feet and sat down on his shoe.  He was going to be scrubbing doggy footprints off all his stuff before this was over but it was his own fault for not doing his follow up research.  
  
Dugan pulled out a small bottle of whiskey, good whiskey, a hand drawn card and several stamps.  "Happy birthday to me," the man grinned.  
  
"You turned him into a _dog_ ," Barnes stated darkly.  
  
"Yip."  
  
Howard glared at Cap.  "Bad dog, no biscuit."  
  
  
# 3  
  
"Okay, so I'm not Erskine, but I think I figured something out.  Where's Cap?" Howard paused, looking up from his notes when he found the tent empty other than Gabe.  
  
"Training, where else?  He's tracking the team, I'm timing him.  He did really well sniffing out the bombs once Dernier gave him some tips," Gabe replied easily.  Once they'd believed the terrier was actually their Captain, they'd accepted the idea easily.  Well, everyone but Barnes, but they were used to that.  The guy was way too overprotective to be on Captain America's squad.  He was Captain America, he didn't need a babysitter.  Maybe a dogsitter.  
  
"How long do you think - " Howard started, taking a seat anyway so he didn't lose his spot in his notes.  
  
Falsworth and Dernier walked in with disappointed expressions.  "There has to be something he's not good at."  
  
"He's pretty bad with dames," Howard contributed.  
  
They nodded their agreement as the rest of the Commandos filtered in, followed finally by a frowning Barnes and Cap nipping at his boots.  
  
He trotted over to Howard wagging his tail.  "There you are, Cap.  I found something that might be useful."  Cap yipped and made an attempt to jump on the cot, failing miserably with a muffled oof as he slammed into the floor.  
  
Howard stifled his laugh, not that it mattered when the rest of the Commandos were chuckling loudly.  He picked up Cap and pointed at the notes.  "You should be able to be a big dog, too.  You should be able to switch."  
  
Cap tilted his head.  
  
"Stop being cute, and think about it.  You're a dog for at least another day and you should know how to use this.  You don't want to switch into a Newfoundland when you're in a tunnel or something," Howard said.  
  
Cap grumbled and jumped off the bed, skittering under the cot.  
  
"Aw, come on, Cap, don't hide," Howard said.  
  
"Yip!" Cap replied a moment before the cot shook underneath him and bulged.  "Woof."  
  
"What.  The.  Fuck." Barnes was not pleased when the massive white dog crawled from under the cot.  
  
"Amazing," Howard grinned when the new, larger, Cap sat down on his haunches in front of him.  "You're still irrationally fluffy."  The dog was also irrationally large.  
  
"Never seen a white Newfoundland before," Dugan said, scritching between the Cap's perked ears.  
  
"This is not okay, Stark," Barnes groaned.  
  
Cap stretched, arching his back as he shook out his fur and smacked Howard in the face with his lazily wagging tail.  
  
"Why aren't you more upset about this?" Barnes directed at the dog.  
  
Howard didn't know dogs could shrug but Steve 'woofed' again and settled back on his haunches.  "It's not like he can do anything about it right now.  I'm pretty sure he's going to kick my ass when he's man-shaped again."  
  
"You really didn't know about this?" Morita asked.  
  
"I don't always pay full attention if I'm working on something," Howard admitted under his breath.  "I wasn't on the genetic manipulation side of it; I just took the data he gave me and turned it into math.  I'm good with math."  
  
Cap rumbled a fake growl and licked his face from chin to forehead.  
  
"Gross," Howard blinked at him, wiping his face.  "But I'll take it over a punch in the face."  
  
  
  
# 4  
  
"I hate dogs," Barnes said, collapsing onto one of the lab stools and scaring the hell out of his newest tech.  
  
"Take a break, kid," Howard sighed, dismissing the new guy and turning to the grumpy sergeant.  "Now, what's this?"  
  
"Dogs, I hate them.  They bite and they smell and they lick, and I hate them," Barnes groaned.  "And you made Steve a dog."  
  
Howard wanted to protest that it hadn't been his idea but that wasn't the point right now.  He'd made a deal with Cap to learn people skills in return for Cap learning calculus.  The supersoldier's strength seemed to be the only thing that mattered to the military, but Howard knew his mind was capable of so much more and he could always use a math-checker.  Practicing 'empathy' was an easy trade off.  
  
"But it's Cap," Howard said finally.  "He's fluffy on the outside instead of the inside and I haven't seen him licking his balls or anything in public."  
  
"I know!  In my head, I know, but instinctively, it's just...dog.  He takes lots of baths, like, Steve hates to be dirty, always has, so Dog Cap keeps hijacking our showers," Barnes said.  "But he's still a dog."  
  
Howard sat down across from him.  "I don't know exactly why Abraham did it, but I know that he had Cap's best interests in mind.  He picked Cap because of his humanity, his brains, his courage.  If he had to buffer it with outside DNA, would you rather he have chosen a bunny or God forbid, a cat?  He can protect himself better as a dog than he could most other animals, and he'll be more accepted in the field."  
  
Barnes sighed, but conceded with a nod.  "Yeah.  Steve's been giving me a wide berth because he knows I hate dogs, but I should be able to get over it."  
  
"He's still Steve," Howard said.  "You can talk it all out when the moon's out of phase."  
  
"Hate talking more than dogs," Barnes grumbled.  
  
Howard nodded.  "Your life is very hard."  


 


	2. Nowadays

  
# 5   
  
"So that's it - my epic sales pitch for you to move into the tower.  Bruce is already there and Thor's lady friend has accepted on his behalf - " Tony was trying to wind down but Cap's unreadable blue stare had started to get to him.  
  
Steve finally leaned back in his chair and Tony let his words hang.  "It would be nice to have everyone in one place.  But not everything about me and my...physiology is in my official or unofficial SHIELD record.  Fury is aware, due to a verbal contract he had with your father and Agent 13, for some other reason," he said vaguely.  
  
He would call bullshit if it wasn't Captain America he was talking to.  It would be like calling George Washington a liar.  
  
"So I'd need a verbal contract, aka, your word, that you won't ever mention my 'thing'.  Bruce will probably want to poke me with things," Steve frowned.  He raised his gaze to Tony.  "The Commandos, Peggy, Howard and Phillips knew but according to Fury, they never documented it."  
  
"Oh.  I'm not really a blabbermouth, Steve, but that sounds...fishy."  
  
"It's sensitive information.  It can be an asset, but it's also my biggest weakness."  Cap took a visible breath.  "Sometimes I'm not myself.  Three days a month, to be specific."  
  
Tony considered making a menstruation joke but Steve was too serious for him to risk their unsteady friendship.  "Do you turn back into Small Steve?"  
  
Cap shook his head slowly.  Waiting for something.  
  
"I promise, Cap, I won't tell anyone your secret.  You should know that already," he added.  
  
He shrugged.  "I have to be sure.  It's - you're going to make fun of me and I expect that, but try and hold in your jokes for those three days when I won't accidentally break you in half."  
  
Tony had no idea where this was going but the door opened and Agent 13 stepped in with a questioning expression.  "What's he doing here?  Do you know what time it is?"  
  
"I'm discussing my condition with Tony since he's still harassing everyone about moving in," Steve said easily.  Ah, at least Tony knew Cap was putting his meeting off.  
  
She frowned but dropped a paper bag in front of Tony.  "I always get more dates when it's my turn," she said.  
  
"Fury says the same thing," Cap snorted.  Tony had too many comebacks for that to pick just one so he opened the bag.  
  
He pulled out a collar and leash.  "Please tell me you're joking, I grew out of my BDSM phase in the 90's."  
  
"That's the first place you go?  I change my mind," Cap laughed.  Agent 13 rolled her eyes and paused to ruffle Steve's hair before closing the door on her way out.  
  
"Cap, you should probably explain - " Tony started but when he blinked, Cap was gone.  
  
"Yip."  
  
Tony blinked at the tiny white terrier sitting in the puddle of Cap's clothes.  With Cap's eyes.  "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yip."  He wagged his tail warily.  
  
He gave himself a moment before he met the dog's eyes.  "Bruce is totally going to poke you with all the things."  The dog sagged miserably in the pile of clothes.  
  
"Jesus fuck, Cap, don't give me a puppy pout, how are you even real?  God, I thought I had daddy issues before but I know now why he never let me have a puppy for Christmas, fuck me," Tony blurted out, scooping up the white puffball and holding him at eye level.  "Are you cognizant in there?"  
  
Cap answered by biting his arm until he released him in a tumble onto the table.  
  
"Ruff," he growled, ducking his head and wriggling the collar loosely around his neck.  He took the aattached leash in his mouth and hopped to the chair and then to the floor before rushing over to scratch on the door.  
  
Agent 13 opened it with a knowing expression.  "I told him it was too soon."  
  
"No, wait just a minute - I haven't failed the test yet, I can totally deal with this if he's not biting me."  
  
"Did you pick him up without permission?" 13 asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, yes, but - "  
  
"Don't do that," she replied flatly.  "He doesn't have to wear the collar or the leash inside, and never ever try and give him a dog biscuit or dog food.  And don't poke him with things."  
  
"Yip," Cap nodded, tilting his fluffy little head in Tony's direction.  Questioning.  
  
"I promise.  Come see your new place, I'll have to make a few tweaks, like doggie doors, but I think you'll find it workable," Tony said, holding out his hand.  13 gave him the leash and Cap yipped approvingly, tugging on the leash.  He looked up at the agent.  "Anything else?"  
  
"He can bark morse code, but probably stick to one bark for yes, two for no, just to pacify the neighbors," she smiled.  "You'll figure it out."  
  
Well, he wanted the Avengers to live in a central location.  Surely taking care of a dog for three days a month wouldn't be as hard as dealing with a rage-triggered gigantic Hulk.  
  
Cap yanked the leash and trotted down the hall to the exit door.  He huffed and sat down, radiating puppy impatience.    
  
"My aunt said that he was always Howard's dog before anyone else's," Agent 13 said quietly.  "He didn't want to insult my aunt by looking up her skirt and his best friend had a dog phobia.  It would mean a lot to him if you can pull this off."  
  
Tony glanced at her.  "You're Peggy's niece."  
  
She nodded.  "He didn't find out until his first moon and he was not happy about it.  Fury and I both advised against him telling anyone else, but he does what he wants."  
  
"Yip!"  
  
"Yeah, well, I better talk to Cap about all that.  I'm assuming he's not a super-dog, is he healthy?  Does he have all his shots?"  
  
She frowned.  "He's vulnerable but remember, we can't poke him with things so we don't know much.  Howard was the only one he ever let test him but those documents don't exist anymore."  
  
Tony was going to be talking to Cap about a lot of things, but first he had him back to the tower and get JARVIS working on a translation program.  
  
  
  
# 6  
  
Cap froze in front of the mud puddle in the garage and Tony almost tripped over him trying to stop.  "What is it?"  
  
Cap whined, shaking his paw at the tiny pool of water.  He sat down and raised both hands in a begging position.  
    
"Seriously?  You don't like to get dirty or is it the water - " he remembered he was talking to a dog.  "One or two?"  
  
"Yip."  
  
"Dirty, okay.  You know if Pepper finds out about that, she'll buy little doggy shoes and carry you around in her purse," Tony warned, picking up the pup with permission.  "The shower in your apartment can be voice activated, so we'll program it for barks as needed, yeah?"  
  
Cap ruffed appreciatively and settled into the crease of his elbow.  
  
"All right, buddy.  Now, you seem pretty competent on your own, but I'm going to keep my eye on you until I get used to this, which means, I need to know who I'm allowed to tell.  The only reason I'm mentioning it at all is because Pepper lives with me and she's most definitely going to see you.  And she's going to coo," Tony told him.  
  
"Yip."  
  
He wondered how long it had taken his dad to get used to this.  "Does that mean I can tell her and you won't get mad?"  
  
"Yip."  Cap nodded his head and perked his ears up inquisitively when JARVIS greeted them on the garage's private parking lot.  
  
"JARVIS, ask Pepper to meet us on Captain Rogers' floor and then put his place on full security lockdown," Tony said.  Cap whined curiously with that inexplicably adorable head-tilt.  "He's my AI, you've heard me talk about him before.  I usually only have him on my floors, but since I'm using biometrics for security reasons considering what kind of villiains we deal with; he's technically available to all of you because the sensors are already functional on your floors.  If you don't want to hang out at my place for the next three days, I can switch him on."  
  
Cap seemed to consider it and finally gave a rumbling maybe.  Or more exactly, a 'yip-yip-yip'.  Yeah, Tony could totally deal with this.  
  
The elevator opened on the floor he'd designated for Cap and Clint to share, but he was already recalculating.  He could probably make a dog run or something out of Clint's side.  Hell, Clint might even like that.  
  
Pepper was already standing outside of Cap's room and her face lit up when she saw Puppy Cap.  "Oh, I don't even care where you got it - let me see it!"  
  
"Hang on, Pep, let's go inside and talk first, he's skittish," Tony said, turning away and ignoring her disappointment when Cap 'yipped' his appreciation.  
  
"Tony - what - " she followed him inside and glared until he was finished locking the door.  
  
"Captain America is made of secrets.  Fluffy adorable secrets," Tony blurted out, nodding down at Cap.  
  
"What - " Pepper started, but she focused on the dog suddenly.  
  
"Those blue eyes, right?  I don't know the whole story because Cap is an asshole and dropped this in my lap, but three days a month, he's a dog," Tony summed up.  
  
"Yip."  
  
"Oh."  Pepper studied him.  "You're adorable."  
  
Tony looked down at Cap who huffed and rolled his eyes.  Pepper smiled.  Of course she'd accept it.  It was one of the many reasons he loved her.  "Can I put you down now?"  
  
"Yip yip," Cap replied.  
  
"That means no.  Why not?  The floor's not dirty," Tony asked.  
  
Cap swatted his paw in Pepper's direction and he scanned her for problems that would upset a temporary dog.  
  
"Skirt.  He doesn't want to look up your skirt," Tony realized.  
  
"Yip," Cap confirmed.  
  
"This is going to be so much fun," Pepper said gleefully.  Tony would have panicked if he didn't know how much she liked Steve on a human basis.  "I'm going to go put on pants and order dinner.  Do you eat dog food?"  
  
Tony put Cap down on the kitchen counter above waist level for his delicate doggy sensibilities and he sat down and gave Pepper his full attention and enthusiastic 'yip yip' for no.  
  
"Fair enough.  Chicken?  Fish?  Wag your tail when I hit the right one," Pepper said.  
  
"Pizza?" Tony offered and Cap wagged his tail approvingly.  Tony could totally do this.  
  
"Can I ask why you're a tiny dog instead of a bulky dog?" Pepper questioned thoughtfully.  
  
Cap used the closest stool to hop down to the floor and scampered into the kitchen.  A moment later, a massive silky white dog appeared wagging his tail.  
  
"Wow.  I guess you are less noticeable as the small dog.  Can I please pet you?" Pepper asked, her fingers twitching.  
  
"Woof."  
  
"This is better than buying you one of your own, right?  Three days a month, you can get all that mothering out of your system," Tony smiled when Pepper enthusiastically started petting and scritching Cap's ears.  
  
"Can I rub your belly?" Pepper asked.  
  
"Woof woof," Cap replied.  
  
"Fair enough.  Can I buy you a brush?" she asked.  "You would win all the dog shows."  
  
  
# 7  
  
"Oh.  When did you get a dog?" Bruce asked.  
  
Cap had stayed with them the night before in the penthouse, big-sized because he seemed to really like Pepper brushing out his thick hair; but this morning he was content enough to sit on the counter and read the newspaper.  He would paw at the paper when he wanted Tony to turn the page.  
  
"Do you want me to tell him?" Tony asked Cap.  
  
Cap tilted his little head at Bruce and then turned back to Tony.  Questioning silently.  
  
"I'll make him promise not to poke you," Tony added.  
  
Bruce watched him curiously.  "Do I need to call Pepper?"  
  
Cap raised a paw and gave permission.  "Yip."  
  
Tony wanted to make a joke or a dramatic reveal but something about his Captain, his friend, being vulnerable and mortal in a fragile animal's body had clicked overnight.  He was a flashing target three days a month.  
  
"This is a kind of life-fucking super-secret, okay?  Like my designs for my arc reactor, you can't tell anyone, ever.  You aren't allowed to ask any questions or poke him with anything," Tony said.  
  
Bruce approached with curiosity bright in his eyes.  "I don't really won't to poke your dog, Tony."  
  
"That's what you say now," Tony muttered.  
  
"Is it someone I know?  Is he sentient?"  
  
Cap walked over and sat down on the end of the counter raising his paw again in greeting.  "Yip."  
  
"One bark for yes, two for no," Tony replied.  
  
"I do like puzzles.  All right, twenty questions," Bruce said, sitting down.  "You're male."  
  
"Yip."  
  
"You're someone I know, do I know you well?"  
  
Cap wavered his head slightly as in 'so-so' but barked a yes.  
  
Bruce smiled.  "All right, if this is an elaborate trick - "  
  
"It's not," Tony replied.  
  
He returned his attention to Cap.  "All right.  Do you have white hair in real life?"  
  
"Yip yip."  
  
"Blue eyes.  Yeah, those eyes totally give you away, Steve," Bruce grinned brightly.  Then his eyes flashed with understanding.  "Oh."  
  
"Yip."  
  
Bruce turned to Tony and he raised his hands.  "Nope.  Any and all testing will be at his request only.  He's...a dog for three days a month.  A were-dog."  Cap glared at him.  "Pepper called you that and you didn't get mad."  
  
"Always, Cap?" Bruce asked.  
  
"Yip."  
  
Tony shrugged.  "I didn't know until yesterday.  I saw pictures of Howard and the Commandos with dogs, with Cap," he motioned.  "But they kept it off all the records.  He said Fury and Agent 13 are the only ones in this time that know."  
  
Bruce frowned.  "That's dangerous, Cap.  What if - you're tiny and if you don't have powers - "  
  
Cap rolled his eyes.  "Ruff."  
  
Tony laughed.  "He's pretty self-sufficient.  JARVIS won't tell me the logistics, but he knows how to use the toilet."  
  
"Of course he does," Bruce smiled.  He patted Cap carefully.  "I will ask you questions when you're big again, but I'll respect your boundaries.  I'm not a vet anyway.  You know about the leash laws in New York, right?"  
  
"Yip," Cap replied, laying down and pouting with his head on his paws.  
  
"I told you I'd take one for the team and drive you out to the mansion upstate so you can run around," Tony replied.  "He has another shape, too, a Newfoundland."  Bruce's eyes widened.  
  
Pepper appeared dressed impeccably and kissed him on the cheek.  "Morning, Bruce.  Cap, are you done with the business section?"  
  
"You never read the paper," Tony protested.  
  
"Because you never buy the paper," Pepper replied as Cap nosed over the finished sections.  
  
Bruce was watching Cap intensely and Tony could see the questions piling up in his head.  He hoped Cap would give Bruce the benefit of the doubt and tell him *something* about Project Rebirth's secret ingredient.  Bruce wasn't trying to recreate the serum anymore, he was trying to cure himself.  
  
"You going to be okay with this, Brucie?" Tony asked.  
  
Bruce glared at him for the nickname.  "Yeah.  I do have questions, but I understand why he needs to keep it quiet."  
  
"Very quiet," Tony reiterated.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Yip!" Cap pawed at an ad in the Lifestyle section still spread across the counter.  "Yip."  
  
Tony scanned it.  "I am not taking you to - seriously?  Shakespeare in the Park?"  
  
"Yip!" Cap raised his front paws in a begging expression.  
  
"That's.  Really cute," Bruce chuckled.  
  
"Tony has to have a press release to go to things like that, Cap, it's probably not a good idea," Pepper said, scritching his ears.  
  
"I could take you," Bruce hesitated.  "I don't hate Shakespeare and I'm trying to get better with crowds."  
  
"Yip!" Cap agreed.  
  
"You sure?" Tony asked the pup.  He nodded and wagged his tail appropriately.  Tony shrugged and gave Bruce his revised instruction list.  "He doesn't like to be picked up without permission, he's OCD about getting dirty and he absolutely will not fetch anything you ask him to fetch."  
  
"Ruff," Cap agreed.  He hopped down off the counter with the haphazard step-ladder system of a stool and three boxes of cereal that he'd arranged when he was in his Newfoundland shape.  Cap was smart no matter what body he was in.  
  
Bruce turned to Tony when Cap was out of the kitchen.  "Are you going to tell Natasha and Clint?"  
  
"It's up to him, but I have a feeling he tells the people he trusts implicitly and I don't know if they're on that list yet," Tony said.  "He's moving into the Tower, so you and Pepper kind of need to know ASAP."  
  
Bruce nodded thoughtfully.  "If he decides not to share, we can cover for him as needed.  Nobody outside of the team needs to know."  
  
"Ever," Tony nodded.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So obvs chapter 1 is from the 40's era, but the prompt was so much fun that I had to bring it into the present day. It's vaguely canon, but not really because of the timeline but it has puppies, so I hope it's still enjoyable behind the hand-waving.
> 
> I may do drabbles from either era once I update my waffling wips.


End file.
